One Of These Days
by glamrockstar
Summary: Sequel to "Forbidden", I promise it outmatches its predecessor! complete
1. Weasley Wizard Wheezes

Disclaimer: all these characters belong to J.K Rowling, except for the ones she inspired me to create.   
  
One of These Days  
  
What would you do if I could have you?  
  
I'd let you feel everything I'm thinking  
  
Wouldn't that be nice?  
  
- Michelle Branch  
  
Chapter One: Weasley Wizard Wheezes  
  
Twenty-three year old Bailee Potter hung her head as she walked down the cold, wet street of the town of Hogsmeade. She shivered adjusting her long red cloak and glanced up at the empty coble stone road. As she walked past a pub called The Three Broomsticks, she recognized a group of kids inside. They were from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, enjoying a butter beer no doubt.  
  
Bailee peered inside the dingy window, the group of students were wearing the "Gryffindor" logo on their black cloaks. In the far corner of the pub sat a young boy and girl who were fighting off nasty glares from their fellow students. Bailee noticed that the young girl was a Gryffindor student while the young boy was a Slytherin student. Bailee knew all too well how wrong it was for a Gryffindor to date a Slytherin. She shook her head and walked away from the pub.  
  
Since there were so many Hogwarts students, her uncles' business The Weasley Wizard Wheezes was probably booming at that very moment - Bailee told herself. As Bailee continued walking down the street, she began preparing herself for a long day of work. Bailee was a cashier for The Weasley Wizard Wheezes, she was also in charge of the inventory.   
  
"I'm back from my lunch break!" She announced but her uncles, Fred and George were too busy to notice.  
  
Fred Weasley was standing behind the cash register demonstrating the effects of a box of Canary Creams on a young Hufflepuff student, while George Weasley was chasing a young Slytherin boy around the shop.  
  
"You going to pay for that Basic Blaze box? Or are you going to pay for the damage you caused in my store!" George roared cornering the boy.  
  
Bailee couldn't help but laugh as she walked into the employee's lounge. It was amazing how much energy her uncles had for their forty-seven years on this earth. She took off her cloak and hung it on the coat rack. Then she put on her "Weasley Wizard Wheezes" name-tag. She brushed back her long jet black hair (with white streaks in the front) and walked back into the store-area.   
  
"Oy, Bailes when you gonna stop dressing like a bloody muggle?" Fred wanted to know as Bailee stepped behind the counter.  
  
That day, Bailee was clad in a white shirt that revealed her stomach, but covered her back. A pair of dark blue jeans and black boots. She sat down on an orange spinning chair and smiled, "Oh I don't know…I guess I'll start dressing like a witch when Gryffindors and Slytherins get along!" She joked.  
  
Her uncle began laughing while Bailee spun around in her chair. She noticed right then that the young couple from The Three Broomsticks had entered the store. The young boy had spiky black hair, similar to Bailee's older brother Trent, while the young girl had long silver- blonde hair grazing her shoulders. The boy held the girl's hand as the went to look at a box of extendable ears.  
  
"Times are changing Fred." George spoke walking behind the counter. He had a couple of gold coins in his hand and gave them to Bailee, "ring up Basic Blaze Box please."  
  
Bailee rang up the fireworks and then put the money in the drawer. Bailee had been right, The Weasleys were doing very well, there had to be a least eight hundred Galleons in the drawer. She was about to offer going on a trip to Gringotts to deposit half the money when George jumped up suddenly. Apparently, the young Slytherin boy was at it again…he had just got into a box of Deflagration Deluxe, more of the twins' fireworks.  
  
"I thought I told you boy! Don't open fireworks in this store! That's twenty Galleons that is!"   
  
George grabbed the boy by his collar and took the box away from him. The boy narrowed his beady black eyes at George. "Don't you know who my grandfather is?"  
  
"I couldn't care less who your grandfather is! Either you pay for that Deflagration Deluxe set or get out."  
  
Fred and Bailee stood up as the kid tried to free himself from George's grasp. The boy reached his pocket and pulled out a wad of Galleons. George took the money and let him go. The boy then kicked George in shins and ran out of the store.  
  
George hobbled back to the cash register and placed the money on the counter. Bailee rang up the Deflagration Deluxe and then counted the money, "uh…he's five Galleons short…"  
  
"Stupid git, bet his father is a Malfoy…" Fred trailed off.  
  
"Actually the only last Malfoy to have a child is Alec Malfoy, and since he doesn't have any children that would be impossible…"  
  
Bailee looked up from the cash register at the young Slytherin and his Gryffindor girlfriend. He handed her a box of Extendable Ears and a Skiving Snackbox. "You know Alec Malfoy?" She inquired, her voice going shaky.  
  
It had been five years since Alec Malfoy and Bailee Potter had broken up. Alec had to leave Bailee due to an arranged marriage. Bailee shook her head, she was glad Alec and his wife, Raven, never reproduced.  
  
"My uncle Angus Flint is good friends with him, why?" The boy replied staring at Bailee with his light grey eyes.  
  
"No reason…that'll be fifteen Galleons."  
  
The boy reached in his pocket and handed her the money. Then Bailee bagged the items and handed them back to him. "What is your name?" she wanted to know.  
  
"Ian." He replied smiling at Bailee.  
  
"And your girlfriend?"  
  
"Oh, her name is Alice."  
  
"No, I meant is there anything else?" Bailee responded, tilting her head towards a shelf of lit-up plastic roses.   
  
"I'll take one of those rose please." Ian stated winking back at Bailee, while his girlfriend Alice began blushing furiously.  
  
"Seventeen sickles please."  
  
Bailee watched as Ian pinned the bright red rose on Alice's cloak. He took her hand and they strolled out of the store. Bailee smiled and sat down putting the sickles in the drawer.  
  
"Ah nothing like young love." Fred spoke sitting down on a bright purple chair and propping his feet on the counter.  
  
"Shut-up! If they weren't in "love" as you put it, you wouldn't have got your sickles now would you?" Bailee responded crossing her arms.  
  
"Aye."  
  
George walked over to the large window and used his wand to change the "open" sign to "closed". Then he leaned against the counter, clearly still furious about the Slytherin thief.  
  
"Uncle George forget about that git, as far as profits go we did tremendous today! Look nine hundred Galleons!" Bailee announced.  
  
"Yeah Georgey, that's not bad for our thirty-one years in this company!" Fred supplied, "we should go out and celebrate!"  
  
Bailee nodded as she began putting the money into a large white bag. First they'd have to go to Gringott's and deposit the money.   
  
"So where shall we have dinner?" Fred inquired as he and his niece stood outside of Gringott's Wizarding Bank.   
  
Bailee leaned against a marble boulder and tried to fend off appalling glances from wizards passing by. Her top was probably too "revealing" for them. "Well I suppose we should head to the Leaky Cauldron and then to Florean Fortescue's for dessert. And then after that we can hang out at Gambol and Japes."  
  
"Sounds like a plan!" George clapped his hands. He had just came out of the bank and was apparently in a much better mood.  
  
Bailee smiled broadly, was it weird to hang out with your middle-aged uncles? Probably so, but she didn't care. As they walked past the entrance to Knockturn Alley, Bailee saw what looked like Alec Malfoy. She almost tripped over an old witch and when she looked up again, Alec was gone.  
  
Bailee sighed, for all she knew it could have been Draco Malfoy…or any male with long silver blonde hair. She caught up with her uncles and followed them into the pub, The Leaky Cauldron. They entered the dinning room and pondered what to order for dinner.  
  
"I remember coming here when your father was younger…" Fred stated as they sat down.  
  
"Really?" Bailee replied even though she wasn't the least bit interested about her about her father. Bailee Potter knew almost everything there was to know about her father, Harry Potter. The entire wizarding world reminded her everyday of how great her father was…after all he was the destroyer of the dark lord, Voldemort.  
  
"Yup…" Fred trailed off, "so have you decided what you want to do?"  
  
Bailee looked up at her uncle as George came to the table with three butterbeers. "What do you mean Uncle Fred?"  
  
"What he means is, darlin', you have so much potential. You shouldn't spend the rest of your life working for us at the Weasley Wizard Wheezes. You should go out and become an Auror like your dad, or a become part of the Council of Magical Law like your mum." George piped up.  
  
For a moment Bailee didn't know what to say. She felt hurt, she liked working at the Weasley Wizard Wheezes… She knew she had potential but she was content with where her life was going. She wasn't her father, and she wasn't her mother, nor was she her brother, the famous Quidditch player.  
  
"But I like working for the Weasley Wizard Wheezes." Bailee stated in her defence.  
  
"We know that, hun, but you're much better than an ordinary cashier. George and I think you came to work for us because you needed a place to hide. You can't hide forever…" Fred told her placing his hand on hers.   
  
Bailee pulled her hand away and glared at her uncles with her cat-like green eyes, "How can you say that? I'm not hiding…I just…"  
  
"Bailee…we're sorry…" Fred spoke up as fried sausages and Shepard's pie appeared magically on the table.  
  
"I get it, my mum and dad put you up to this right?"   
  
"They are very worried about you Bailes, they say you haven't been the same since you graduated from Hogwarts." George piped up with a mouthful of pie.  
  
"I don't believe this…how dare they…" Bailee banged her fist on the table causing a couple of people to turn and stare at her.  
  
"Ah, forget about it, you're the best employee we've seen in years. You can find a job in the Ministry when you're older." Fred replied, but it wasn't what Bailee wanted to hear.  
  
"Thanks Uncle Fred." Bailee replies sarcastically. She stood up and grabbed her cloak from her velvet chair.  
  
"Where are you going? What about dessert?"   
  
"I'm sorry, I've suddenly lost my appetite." Bailee told her uncles and stormed out of the dinning room.  
  
She walked to the bar area and sat down on an empty stroll. The proprietor, Tom, was behind the counter washing a beer jug with a dingy rag. She ordered a shot glass of fire whiskey but didn't drink it.  
  
"I can't believe it, even my goofball uncles don't think I'm living up to my potential." She spoke out loud, not to anyone in particular.  
  
"Well maybe they're right."  
  
Bailee turned around and saw that her older brother, Trent was standing behind her. Trent was two years older than Bailee and was a famous Quidditch player. He use to play as a seeker for the Chudley Cannons and then he got transferred to the Ballycastle Bats. He was with his girlfriend, Witch Weekly model Clarissa Haynes. Clarissa excused herself and went upstairs to where the guestrooms were.   
  
"What are you doing here and what are you wearing?" Bailee inquired in a accusing-tone.  
  
Trent sat down on a stool beside her and messed with his spiky black hair. He was wearing a long black shirt with fishnet arms and dark jeans. Clearly he had spent a great deal of time in muggle London.  
  
"I am taking a bit of time off with me girlfriend. And you, what are you wearing? Your navel is showing."  
  
"So? Your sleeves have holes in them." Bailee retorted rolling her eyes.  
  
"That's the style…what are you having?"  
  
"Fire whiskey."  
  
Trent turned and looked at Tom who was making a butterbeer for an old witch. He ordered a fire whiskey then turned back to his younger sister. He had after all not seen her for months.  
  
"So I take it Uncle Fred and Uncle George are here?" He inquired and Bailee nodded.  
  
"They had a talk with you then? Mum and Dad were going to get around it eventually, but I guess they hoped they wouldn't have to." Trent told her before drinking his fire whiskey, which resulted in him coughing for an entire set of minutes.   
  
Bailee just stared at him with amusement, he deserved it, she thought. Eventually it got annoying and she had to get him a glass of water.   
  
"Thanks." Trent replied, his voice raspy.  
  
"I appreciate the fact that my entire family thinks I'm a loser, well except for Brooklynn because she is in Hogwarts, but I am sure if wasn't she'd be telling me that I'm not living up to my potential too."  
  
"Nah, I am sure Brooklynn wouldn't care." Trent replied jokingly but Bailee wasn't amused.  
  
"Look, I know I could find a better job, but who really cares? I mean I make enough to live on my own and I am quite fine where I am in life. So I wish you, Mum, Dad and the uncles would all just bugger off."  
  
"What about in the future Bailes? You don't want to be working for the uncles forever do you? Don't you want to settle down and have a family?"  
  
"No, I don't thanks…and what about you? You're nearly twenty-five, shouldn't you be thinking about a family of your own?"  
  
Trent raised his eyebrows, "actually, I was planning on proposing to Clarissa soon."  
  
"Really? Trent that's great!" Bailee responded trying to hide her sarcasm. Her brother the famous sports star and his trophy wife, fantastic.  
  
Trent nodded and grinned broadly, "I was going to take her home first to meet Mum and Dad. Then I was going to propose to her afterwards. What do you think?"  
  
"Well if you love her, then more power to you I guess."  
  
"Yeah." Trent responded happily.   
  
Bailee stood up and brushed off her jeans. She glanced around the bar-area when she noticed the man from Knockturn Alley. He was sitting in the far corner of the bar, in the most darkened area. Bailee was about to walk closer to the man when Trent stopped her.  
  
"C'mon." He stated placing his hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"To London!"   
  
Bailee stared at her older brother questionably. "Ok…"  
  
"I want to show you this cool place it's a tattoo parlour!"   
  
He put fixed his t-shirt while Bailee grabbed her cloak. When she turned and looked at the corner, the man that had been sitting there was gone. She sighed and followed her brother out of the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
"Why on earth do you want to go to a tattoo parlour?" Bailee inquired as they stepped onto the crowded street.  
  
"I was thinking of getting a tattoo of Clarissa's name on my lower back, as a surprise." Trent said leading his sister down the street past a record store, and a burger joint.  
  
"Oh Trent! You're such a romantic wizard!" Bailee crooned.  
  
Trent laughed as they entered the tattoo parlour. Bailee shuddered when she noticed a young man lying one of the chairs while the tattoo artist was drawing a black rose on his shoulder blade. The young man was practically in tears.  
  
"What can I do for you today?" A older female receptionist inquired. She had long blonde hair, hazel eyes and had an eye brown ring, a lip ring, and five piercing per hole. She looked cool in Bailee's opinion.  
  
"I want to get a tattoo of my girlfriend's name." Trent told her.  
  
"Aww, how sweet! Is this your girlfriend?" The woman pointed at Bailee.  
  
"Oh, god no, this is my sister." Trent stated quickly.  
  
"Oh! I'm sorry! Well that's good she's not your girlfriend because it's a curse to get a tattoo of your girlfriend's name." She informed them.  
  
"Really?" He turned and looked at Bailee, "well…I always wanted a nipple ring!"  
  
Bailee began to laugh, but she decided that since her brother was getting a nipple ring, she'd get a navel ring as well. 


	2. A Strange Coincidence

Disclaimer: all these characters belong to J.K Rowling, except for the ones she inspired me to create.   
  
Chapter Two: A Strange Coincidence  
  
Bailee slowly walked down the dark streets of Hogsmeade towards her small cottage. She fixed her cloak and walked inside her cottage. Her owl, Osiris was waiting for her with a bundle of letters and a Daily Prophet, the weekly wizard newspaper.  
  
She took the letters from him and gave him a biscuit in return. She walked to her living room and collapsed on her black leather couch kicking her boots off. The first couple of letters were from her dad.  
  
One of them was inviting her to have dinner at the Potter Manor that weekend, so Trent could propose to Clarissa. The entire Weasley-Potter clan would be attending, minus the kin still in school. The other letter was informing Bailee that Lucius Malfoy had passed away.  
  
"Why the hell would he tell me that?" Bailee asked herself out loud.  
  
She put her letters away and then ended up falling asleep on the couch. When she awoke she realized suddenly that she was late for work.  
  
"Oh crap!"   
  
Bailee ran out of her house fifteen minutes later barely dressed and ready. She managed to pull her hair back in a pony tail and put on heavy kohl eyeliner. She was clad in a black tank top that stopped right before her belly button, glittery black slacks and her black boots. She panted heavily as entered the Weasley Wizard Wheezes.  
  
"Sorry I'm late!" She exclaimed trying to regain normal breathing.  
  
Her uncles stood up with worried expressions on their faces. Fred walked up to her, "Bailee about yesterday, we're sorry. We were so worried…"  
  
"Oh that…I ran into Trent and we hung out last night." Bailee replied sitting down on her orange chair, getting glitter everywhere.  
  
"We want you to stay at Weasley Wizard Wheezes, we don't agree with your parents…but they asked us to talk to you and we couldn't say no." George explained.  
  
"That's okay Uncles…really."   
  
"Good, now that that is done with, we're hiring another employee to manage the floor."  
  
Fred held up the ad he placed in the Daily Prophet while Bailee stared at him questionably. She propped her feet on the counter and used a spell to bring her name tag to her. "Why?"  
  
"Well with all these visitors from Hogwarts, we're having a problem with stealing…normally we'd jinx the kid you know, but we can't catch everybody. So if we hire an employee solely for that purpose we're all set." George told her, messing with his shaggy red hair.  
  
"Who is the new employee?" Bailee wanted to know.  
  
Fred and George exchanged glances and then back at Bailee, "We don't know yet…we're interviewing the person this afternoon."  
  
"Oh." Bailee replied.  
  
The day went by slowly because all the kids were in school and most adults had no reason to go into a joke shop. It was around three o'clock when Bailee decided to take a break at get a butter beer at the Three Broomsticks.   
  
Bailee had just sat down at one of the corner tables with her butterbeer when she saw someone rather familiar walk by. The woman she saw had long black hair, and she was wearing a forest green cloak that looked as if it were made of pure silk. She was none other than Raven Warner, Alec's pre-arranged wife. Raven noticed Bailee sitting at the table she'd just walked past and stopped in her tracks. Bailee's stomach churned with anger and hatred toward Raven. She wasn't in the mood for a huge confrontation, but on the other hand she'd longed to tell Raven exactly what she'd thought of her after all these years. Raven looked down at Bailee as if she were a dung bomb that had just exploded. "Oh, for the love of Merlin," she snorted, "I should have guessed I'd see you in here on of these days, bumming around, doing absolutely nothing with your pathetic life. Ah, well, it runs in the family, doesn't it?" "And what have you been doing with your life, Raven?" Bailee inquired coldly. "I supposed you've been jet-setting about, spending money that's not yours, shagging everyone you come in contact with...other than your husband, that is." "Oh, please," Raven sneered. "Don't tell me you're still all bent out of shape over the whole Alec thing. I mean, if it makes you feel any better, you can have him...because I left him. He never really meant anything to me, just money and breeding. In fact, it would have been rather amusing if he had refused to marry me, because then you would have been brutally killed. It would have gotten your father some more headlines in the Daily Prophet, though..." Bailee had enough. She couldn't just sit there and let Raven talk that way about her father, or Alec. Without even thinking, she grabbed her butterbeer and poured it on Raven. Then she left the Three Broomsticks - and a gasping, sputtering Raven - behind and stormed back to the joke shop.  
  
Bailee knew her face must be red as a beet and in a bad expression the way her uncles were looking at her as she entered the shop. "What's the matter, Bailes?" Fred asked as she took her place behind the counter again. "Oh, nothing, Uncle Fred," she lied as she sat down. He shrugged and began talking about business as usual. "Well, we made a decision on that new hire we were talking about," George said. "In fact, he's here right now, helping us out with a few things and getting to know the store a bit. He's in the stockroom now if you'd like to introduce yourself." Fred and George exchanged quick glances, which Bailee didn't notice. "All right then," she said, as she got up, went around the counter and into the stockroom, where she got the shock of her life. Alec Malfoy was standing in front of her, his arms full of crates of Fizzing Whizbees. As soon as he saw her he dropped the crates in surprise. "Bailee?" he said. Bailee was too shocked to speak. She just stood there as the seconds seemed to slow down to hours, not knowing whether to be happy or sad, to hug him, run away or slap him in the face. Alec stared back at her. "Well?" he said, "Aren't' you going to say anything to me at all?" Bailee did the only thing she could do at this point. She took his hand, shook it firmly as if they'd just met, and said in a formal, businesslike tone, "Welcome to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes." He gaped at her. "You're not serious, are you?" he asked after a few seconds. "Bailes, it's me, Alec. You act as if you don't even know me." "And you act as if I do," Bailee shot back. "Bailee, please," Alec said. "You know I never really wanted to marry Raven, that I was only doing it to protect you. Don't act as if you don't remember." "I remember quite well, thank you," Bailee said coldly. She turned and started to walk out of the stockroom. She felt as if the walls were closing in on her in there. "Bailee, let's meet tonight," Alec said, "I want to tell you everything that's been going on, and I want to talk about us." "There is no us, Alec, and there never really was," Bailee said. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I would have rather died at the hands of your grandfather than lose you? But no, you didn't seem to think about that when you trotted off into the sunset with Raven, did you? Oh, speaking of your Romanian Ice Queen, it seems as though she's bored with you...I had a nice, long talk with her in the Three Broomsticks, and she said she left you." "Why do you think I'm here, other than the fact that I wanted to see you so badly?" Alec replied. "Raven took all my savings. Every last galleon. So I'm actually having to take up gainful employment, rather than live off the Malfoy inheritance. To be honest with you, I feel better now that I have a real job." "You do?" Bailee said sceptically. "Why, yes," said Alec. "But I'll explain everything later, when we meet tonight." He looked into her eyes, making her knees go weak. "Please?" In spite of all the resentment she harboured against Alec, she still couldn't resist those eyes gazing at her that way. "Oh, all right," she said.  
  
Right after work, Bailee went home and washed and changed. She wore a pink midriff sweater and low-cut jeans so that her bellybutton ring showed. She wore her hair down, and it fell down her back in long brown waves. If she was going to humour Alec by meeting him at Madam Puddifoot's tonight, she was at least going to make him see what he'd given up all that time ago. Bailee waited at one of the outside tables at Puddifoot's for only five minutes before Alec showed up. He was wearing dark blue wizarding robes, and his shoulder-length blond hair was pulled back, except for two strands that hung down his face in the front. Bailee's stomach did a few flip-flops when she saw him. It annoyed her that his mere presence still evoked so much excitement in her, but at the same time she was happy that he hadn't stood her up, as she'd been afraid he would do.  
  
"Thank you for meeting me tonight, Bailee," he said, as he sat down. "You're welcome," she said, her tone still cool and reserved. "So, you're still obsessed with Muggle stuff, I see?" he teased her, gesturing to her bellybutton ring and her clothes. "What's wrong with all that?" Bailee asked, a little cuttingly. "Don't want anyone to mistake you for a mudblood?" "Don't use that word," Alec said bracingly. "Why not? I'll bet Raven uses it all the time." "Well, Raven and I aren't together anymore, are we? And I never used it to begin with. It's a terrible, ugly word, and just because I'm a Malfoy doesn't mean I use it. You know that, or you used to." Bailee sighed. "I don't know what I really know anymore, Alec. You come into my life after five years of nothing, no owls, no contact.... you just pop up one day and expect me to welcome you back as if nothing happened."  
  
"I know, I know," Alec replied, "I'm sorry if I acted a bit presumptuous at the shop today. But everything I said was true. I've been thinking about you this entire time. Raven and I, well...we bought a lot of things together. But that's it. I never had with her what I had with you. Even now that's I'm virtually broke, it doesn't even matter, because that life is behind me now. It was just...things, and money. The only love I've received these past five years is the love of my house elf." "It must have been lonely," Bailee had to admit. "Yes, it was," Alec said. "There has been only one thing keeping me going all this time." "And what was that one thing?" Bailee asked. "You," Alec said. He reached across the table and took Bailee's hand. "Bailee, did it matter the first time, any of it? Our families and their old fights? It was just you and me, remember? I want us to be that way again." "Can I ask you something?" said Bailee. "Anything," Alec answered. "What would you have done if I'd refused to go along with any of it? If I'd tried night and day to destroy the whole arrangement, instead of just rolling over and accepting it?" "You would have died," Alec said. "I'm sorry, Bailee, but there was nothing any of us could have done. But now that my grandfather is dead, and my father, well, doesn't really care about me as long as I don't bring shame on the family, it doesn't matter anymore." Bailee didn't say anything. She was twenty-three years old, and it seemed as if the prospect of a happy life for her hinged on whether a rich old man was dead or not. She didn't quite know how to react to it all. "Can I take you dinner tomorrow evening?"  
  
"Tomorrow?" Bailee inquired.  
  
Alec nodded and stared at her quietly.  
  
"I…can't…I mean I have a date tomorrow." Bailee lied.  
  
"Oh, my mistake…I wouldn't expect you to be single after five years, after all."  
  
"No, I don't suppose so."  
  
They talked for about another half-hour, catching up on old times, mainly avoiding their time at Hogwarts, until Bailee looked at her watch. "I should be getting back," she said. "I have to work tomorrow, and so do you." "Let me walk you home," Alec offered. "No thank you, " Bailee said. "I know the way." "Why not? I thought we were, well, you know..." Alec trailed off. "Let's just get through this weekend first, all right?" Bailee said. Alec shrugged. "All right, then," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow." He apparated, and Bailee started home. She'd wanted to let Alec walk her home, but she was scared. No, terrified. The last time she'd gotten close to him, her heart had been broken. If she bared her heart to him again, with the same kind of consequence, she didn't know if she'd be able to get over it this time. That's why she lied about having a date, in her own way she wanted to get back at Alec. In fact, she realized just as she was drifting off to sleep on the couch again, she hadn't really gotten over it the first time, either.  
  
Bailee awoke the next morning, knowing without even looking at the clock that she was late for work again. Luckily she worked for her uncles, in any other situation she'd been written up or worse, fired.   
  
She left the cottage clad in a bright orange tank top, and dark blue jeans. She was in such a hurry (again) that she forgot her cloak. She apparated from her house to The Weasley Wizard Wheezes.   
  
"Sorry I'm -"  
  
"Late." Fred and George chimed in unison.  
  
Fortunately for Bailee the store was empty, otherwise lying on the ground would have seemed very unprofessional. She looked up at her uncles from the floor, "is he here?"  
  
They knew exactly who she was referring to. Fred knelt down beside his niece and stared at the ground, "no, not yet anyway…"  
  
Bailee sat up and leaned her back against the counter. "Why are you two doing this to me? I mean the other day you told me that I was better than all this and then you go off and hire my ex-boyfriend. It's like you want me to quit!"  
  
She was about to continue but just then Alec walked through the door. He had four Styrofoam cups of warm butter beer and walked over to the counter. He handed one to Bailee and then walked into the employee's lounge to remove his cloak. He came back wearing a black dress shirt with a green tie, black slacks and black dress shoes.  
  
"Do you ever dress down?" Bailee inquired as Alec sat down on a bright red chair. He had his hair down again, and his appearance made Bailee want to melt. She forced herself to try and not think about him in that way. It would only make things worse for her.  
  
"No, I don't own any causal attire…maybe you should take me shopping…" Alec responded before taking a sip of his butter beer.  
  
"Maybe." Bailee replied closing her eyes.  
  
"So are you excited about your date tonight?" Alec wanted to know. He was staring at her from his chair as Bailee was lying on the floor again. She placed her hands underneath her head and replied, "Yeah, 'course."  
  
"Date? What date?" George spoke up forcing Bailee to open her eyes. She glared at him, silently begging him to be quiet but he didn't seem to notice.  
  
"You haven't had a date in three years…I remember because it was Fred that set you up with what was his name?"   
  
"Gareth…" Fred supplied.  
  
"Thanks Uncle George." Bailee stated coolly. She sat up and then got to her feet tossing her cup in the trash can. "I'm going out for a bit."  
  
She immediately proceed out the shop and walked down the street. She returned barely minutes later, with a pack of Turkish Golds in her hand. She was glad to find out that The Hog's Head sold cigars and cigarettes. She leaned against the cold stone building of the Weasley Wizard Wheezes and used her wand to lit her cigarette. She looked inside and saw her uncles handing out Hiccup Sweets to anyone dumb enough to take them. She didn't see Alec anywhere though.  
  
"So you don't have a date tonight?" Alec inquired walking up to her.  
  
Bailee almost jumped a couple of feet in the air, he surprised her so much. She turned and stared at him, wondering where he just came from. He had his black cloak in his hand and could tell that Bailee was freezing so he cautiously wrapped it around her shoulders.  
  
"Thanks." She replied still staring at in him shock. She offered him a cigarette and he accepted, still waiting for her reply. She sat down on the cold side-walk and he sat down beside her, taking a drag.  
  
"No, I don't have a date tonight…my uncle was right I haven't had a date since I was twenty years old…" Bailee shook her head, wishing it were untrue. She wish she had been on many dates since Alec. But the fact of the matter was, she was waiting for him to come back.  
  
"Why did you tell me that you did have a date? If you didn't want to go out with me that's all you had to say."   
  
"I know …it's just that I told you I had a date to -I don't know- make you jealous or something. I wanted to pretend that I had been doing fine without you." Bailee spoke forcing herself to not cry.  
  
He stared at her silently, knowing that it hadn't been easy for Bailee. All this time he had thought about how he was going to cope without her all these years, but he never wondered how she'd manage to cope without him. "Bailee…"  
  
"Look, Alec, I'm sorry…" Bailee shook her head, "there I are so many things I want to say to you, but dammit I just can't."  
  
Bailee stood up and apparated to her cottage. 


	3. The Potter Manor

Chapter Three: The Potter Manor  
  
The following Saturday, Bailee was lying on her couch when Trent came barging in through her fireplace. He looked confused and a little upset.  
  
"Are you alright?" Bailee jumped up. This was the first time she'd seen him look any way other than blissful and completely satisfied with his entire perfect existence. Bailee felt the tiniest bit glad that he seemed to be in a bad mood. She knew that was mean, but it showed that Trent was only human after all.  
  
"Yes and no...it's weird," Trent said, stuttering a little. "I broke up with Clarissa today."  
  
"What?" Bailee was shocked. They'd seemed so happy together...too happy, in Bailee's opinion.  
  
"I know, it seems odd, we've been inseparable for two months, and then the engagement...but I couldn't take it anymore, Bailes. She's just so..."  
  
"Airheaded? Vacant? Blonde?" Bailee finished. Trent raised his eyebrows at Bailee in slight amusement.  
  
"Sorry," Bailee said.  
  
"It's all right...maybe you should have told me how you felt about her sooner, I might not have wasted my time," said Trent.  
  
"Oh come on Trent, it's not like you would have listened to me," Bailee said.  
  
"Yes, I would have," Trent insisted. "Just like I hope you'd listen to me about any of your boyfriends that I didn't like, yeah?"  
  
"Erm, yeah," Bailee mumbled, blushing. "So, what's good about it? I 'd think you'd be all heartbroken."  
  
"Well, this is where it gets confusing," Trent said hesitantly. "Do you remember the Muggle tattoo shop where we got pierced?"  
  
"Yeah," said Bailee.  
  
"So, you remember the Muggle girl with all the tattoos and piercings that worked on us? Well, I've been finding myself going in that shop to see her more and more, and...well..."  
  
Bailee's eyes widened and she broke into a smile. "Really? You and that girl?"  
  
Trent was blushing now and smiling. "Yeah, her name's Jamie and she's super-cool. I've never met another girl like her. And I even told her that I'm a wizard, and she doesn't think I'm a freak or a weirdo or anything. She likes it. And it's so great, because she doesn't know about Quidditch or our father or anything, so she likes me for me, not for my name and my lineage, you know?"  
  
"Yeah, that's just great, Trent. I'm really happy for you." Once again, Trent had all the luck, and Bailee's heart sank just a little. She was happy for her brother, but all the same, she wished she could find that unconditional love of her life as well. She still wasn't sure if Alec was for real, and she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to give her heart to him the way she had five years ago.  
  
"So does Clarissa know about Jamie?" Bailee asked.  
  
Trent nodded, grimacing.  
  
"Oh, yeah, I figured it would be rather dishonest not to tell her," Trent said. "She was not happy, to say the least."  
  
"Oh, well, she's too empty-headed to worry about it for long, so take comfort in that," Bailee said.  
  
---  
  
That afternoon, Bailee tossed her cigarette on the ground before she entered her favourite London clothing outfitters. She had to buy a dress for the party at the Potter Manor. Her mother Ginny wrote her an owl begging her to dress up for the special occasion. Bailee found it amusing that her mother didn't have a clue about Trent and Clarissa's break up.  
  
She spent close to an hour looking for the perfect dress, when the perfect dress came to her. It was long pink dress with tiny straps and a frilly bottom. She tried on the dress and then for a pair of matching pink slippers.  
  
After she left the clothing store she decided to get her hair done, the muggle way. Trent told her that not only was Jamie a tattoo artist but a hair stylist as well. Since Bailee had heard her Aunt Hermione talk so much about muggle hair stylists, she had to see it first hand.  
  
Bailee walked into the salon parlour and immediately recognized the girl standing behind the cash register. It was Jamie.  
  
"Hey! I know you!" Jamie exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah, I know you too, I mean you're dating my brother. So is this another one of your glamorous jobs?" Bailee inquired leaning against the counter.  
  
"Well you know, owning a flat in London isn't exactly cheap. This job pays more but I don't want to give up my job as a tattoo artist. So what brings you here? You don't seem like the type of person to just wonder into a salon for a new hair-do."  
  
"Well, I'm going to the…party tonight. I want something, I just don't know what." Bailee replied truthfully.  
  
"Have a seat!"   
  
Bailee sat down on a sparkly red chair. She looked into the mirror as Jamie walked behind her. Jamie looked down at Bailee, "how about we get rid of these white streaks first of all?"  
  
Bailee looked back at her reflection, remembering exactly how the first few strands of her hair had become white. It was back at Hogwarts when she was nearly attacked by a giant graphorn. The graphorn almost frightened her to death.  
  
"Um, ok, let's do it." Bailee agreed slowly, after all it was a painful memory that involved Alec. If he hadn't saved her from the graphorn, she would have been killed.  
  
"You have such beautiful black hair, how about some blue streaks instead? Then afterwards I can give you a funky hairstyle. You'll knock 'em dead at the party."  
  
---  
  
She then rushed home to change into her dress, she couldn't be late for Trent's special night. Her hair was loosely pulled back with curls falling all around her, there were tiny pink roses placed here and there. She changed out of her ordinary clothes and into the dress. Then she did her make-up and put on her shoes. She ran into her living room and used floo powder to get to her parents' house.  
  
"Bailee! There you are!" Exclaimed Bailee's mother, Ginny.  
  
Bailee stepped out of fire place, brushing the floo powder off of her shoulders. She coughed and looked up at her mum who was in traditional wizarding robes. Ginny pulled Bailee away from the fire place and into the living room so she could greet the Potter's guests.  
  
"What on earth did you do your hair?" Ginny wanted to know.  
  
"Uh…"   
  
Bailee was about to reply but her father came rushing into the room. Ginny, Bailee and about ten other people turned and looked at Harry.  
  
"Dinner is being served in the dinning hall." He announced.  
  
He lead the group of guests (mostly Trent's Quidditch team mates) to the dinning hall but Ginny held Bailee back. Bailee turned and gave her mother a questionable look like, "hey what gives?"  
  
"Mum, I haven't eaten in two days!" Bailee informed her.  
  
"Oh Bailee," Ginny shook her head disapprovingly, "Your father invited Alec Malfoy to join us this evening. I thought I should tell you before you freak out when you see him."  
  
"Why the hell would he do that?"   
  
Ginny stared into the hallway making sure everyone had gone into the dinning hall and wasn't lingering about listening to them. She turned back to her daughter and began speaking again, "Because, his grandfather just died and he's going through a terribly messy divorce. Your father, and I, feel sorry for him. It hasn't been easy for him after all, and he need a break."  
  
"First of all, Mum, you and Dad were never a fan of Lucius Malfoy, second of all, why all the sudden are you taking an interest in my ex-boyfriend's personal life?" Bailee demanded.  
  
"It wasn't all the sudden, dear…your father has worked with Alec at the Ministry of Magic for close to three years now. The reason he never told you is because he didn't want to upset you. When Raven took all of Alec's savings, he found that he couldn't live off of his Ministry job alone. So your father pulled a few strings and landed him a job with your uncles. We knew you'd take it badly, we just didn't know how badly. That's why we had your uncles talk to you about finding another job."  
  
Bailee didn't know how to respond to what her mum had just told her. She couldn't believe it, any of it. She just glared at her and then stormed off into the dinning hall. Her entire family was already seated at the table, so Bailee had to go to the far end to sit.  
  
Shortly after Bailee arrived, Alec came into the room. It seemed as if the room had fallen silent as he walked towards Bailee. Everyone was turning and staring at them. Bailee could feel the heat begin to rise in her cheeks as Alec sat down next to her. He was wearing a black suit with a light blue tie. He looked at her and smiled slightly, even though she ran away from him yesterday, there was no way he'd let her go again.  
  
"You're beautiful." He whispered.  
  
Bailee turned away from Alec and noticed that Trent was standing in the room not with his ex-fiancé but with Jamie. Ginny and a few other Weasleys gasped loudly.   
  
"I have an announcement to make." Trent announced  
  
He smiled at his family and then continued speaking, "Clarissa and I are not longer together."  
  
There was a round of shock expressions as Trent and his new girlfriend sat down at the other end of the table. Bailee couldn't be happier for her brother, he was lucky enough to find that one special person to spend the rest of his life with.  
  
After dinner, Bailee excused herself and wandered onto the Potter's balcony. She sat down with her cigarettes and stared up at the star-lit sky. Alec followed her and leaned against the doorway.  
  
"You must be freezing." He spoke taking off his coat jacket.  
  
"I'm fine thanks, besides are you sure you want to lend me your jacket after I ran off with your cloak?" Bailee replied looking at him.  
  
"Good point, however I have many cloaks, and I was planning on coming over to get it." Alec spoke sitting down beside her.  
  
He wrapped the coat around her shoulders and smiled at her, "besides are you planning on running again?"  
  
"Dunno." Bailee exhaled her smoke.  
  
Alec stared at her hoping that she wasn't planning on running away again. He worked so hard to get to this point and he didn't want her to leave.  
  
"About yesterday…" Alec started.  
  
"I don't want to talk about yesterday."  
  
"O.K…but we can't just ignore it, we have to talk about it Bailes."   
  
Bailee grouchily tossed her cigarette over the balcony and stood up. She grabbed the railing and then turned towards Alec. She looked past him and inside the house. Trent and Jamie were dancing in the middle of the living room floor while the entire family circled them, clapping.  
  
"I am so glad my family approves of his muggle girlfriend." Bailee mumbled, lighting another cigarette.  
  
Alec was about to speak but stopped, he turned and looked into the window behind him. He realized that Bailee's brother didn't seem right for his fiancé. He was glad that Trent had found someone better because he was almost certain that Trent and Clarissa hadn't been in love. It was obvious that Clarissa was out for all she could steal. Alec looked back at Bailee, he was glad that she was nothing like Clarissa. And he was twice as glad that she was nothing like Raven.  
  
"You should really quit smoking."   
  
"Why? It's suppose to shorten my life span." Bailee tossed back.  
  
"Exactly."  
  
Bailee sighed and threw her cigarette on the cement then ground it with her foot. She looked back up at Alec, who was now standing and edging toward her.  
  
"You look absolutely magical tonight." He whispered.  
  
"And you look very…posh…"  
  
"I'll, uh, take that as a compliment."   
  
"Suit yourself."  
  
Alec placed his hand on her shoulder, while his other hand touched her cheek gently, "please talk to me… " he pleaded.  
  
"What do you want to talk about? I mean I think we've said everything we've needed to say, don't you?"  
  
Alec shook his head, "no, I don't. You never told me how you really felt about me. "  
  
"Of course I never told you Alec!" Bailee shot back.  
  
She pulled away from him and took off his coat, then she handed it to him and wandered into her house. Molly Weasley ran up to her and grabbed her by the arm, leading her into the living room, "dance with your brother, maybe you can talk some sense into him."  
  
Bailee gritted her teeth and walked in the centre of the room with Trent. He smiled happily as the music began to play, "So you and Alec huh?"  
  
"No." Bailee snapped, "Nothing happened."  
  
"Oh, I just thought, you two seemed…"  
  
"No." Bailee shook her head.   
  
Trent spun her around the room and Bailee saw Alec standing alone in the corner. He was watching them dance with a sad expression on his face. Bailee began to feel sort of bad. She knew she wasn't exactly the nicest person to him. She'd have to try harder if she even wanted to keep him as a friend.  
  
"But you, I'm really happy for you."   
  
"Thanks Bailes."  
  
"Anytime."   
  
Alec put down his glass of wine and walked over to the middle of the floor. "May I cut in?"  
  
"Of course." Trent replied while Bailee glared at him.  
  
Alec grabbed Bailee by the waist while Bailee placed her hands on Alec's shoulders. Trent went back to Jamie and pretty soon everyone was dancing.   
  
"I dare you stay and work this thing out. 'Cause leaving is taking the easy way out." Alec whispered.  
  
Bailee looked up at Alec with widen eyes, then she took him his hand and lead him out of the living room and upstairs to her old bedroom.  
  
Bailee collapsed on her bed and kicked off her slippers while Alec stood in the doorway. He stared at her expectantly, waiting for her to say something.  
  
When she didn't he walked over to a pink fake fur chair and sat down. He removed his coat and loosened his tie. Bailee turned her head and looked at him, "look, I'm sorry for the way I behaved. I just…"  
  
"I know Bailee." Alec sighed.  
  
She sat up placing her hand on her forehead, all the blood was rushing to her head. She kicked her feet over the side of the bed and breathed in deeply. "I guess we should talk, I owe you that much at least."  
  
"How about dinner tomorrow evening at my place, please don't say no." Alec stated.  
  
"Dinner would be lovely, I guess it would be weird talking here..." Bailee told him.  
  
"Yeah, I'd prefer to be alone, alone." He responded and stood up again, looking around the room. He was fascinated by everything Bailee use to own. There were so many things non-magical, unlike his own childhood room.  
  
"So this is your old room?"  
  
"Uh huh…"  
  
Alec picked up a picture of Bailee and her friend Michelle standing in front of the old oak tree at Hogwarts when she was sixteen. In the background Alec was walking in his Quidditch robes with the Slytherin Quidditch team. He put the picture down and proceeded to look at one of himself and Bailee in Hogsmeade.   
  
"So why'd you dye your hair?" Alec inquired turning to look at her.  
  
Bailee was lying on her back, hanging upside down off the end of the bed, she looked at him, "Oh that, just felt like a change is all…"  
  
Alec nodded his head in agreement. Bailee sat up and put her slippers back on and stood up, "Guess we better go back downstairs…"  
  
---  
  
Alec drew in a deep breath as he used the end of his wand to light a couple of candles. He had set a table for two in his kitchen, with candle light, roses, and light classical music. As he was about to dim the lights he heard Bailee in the living room. He fixed his black dress shirt and quickly walked into the living room.  
  
"I, uh, apparated. It was cold outside and I didn't want to use floo powder." Bailee stated quickly.  
  
She had her hair pulled back in funky twists and covered in glitter. She was wearing a short orange dress and looked rather nervous.  
  
"That's ok, I was just about to take the roast out of the oven. Please come into the kitchen." Alec replied.  
  
Bailee glanced around Alec's tiny cottage as she followed him into the kitchen. It was much smaller than hers, by far, and much more clean. It was probably more clean because Alec had only been residing in it for a week and he still had a devoted house elf. "Oh I brought your cloak back, by the way."  
  
"Thanks, just set it on the chair there."   
  
She placed his cloak on a black leather chair and then followed him into the kitchen. She smiled when she sat down at the decorated table. She had no idea that Alec could cook, it was very flattering.  
  
Alec took the roast out of the oven and set on the table. Then he brought over a bowl of mashed potatoes and a plate of rolls, "I hope you brought your appetite."  
  
"Mmm..hmm." Bailee nodded.  
  
After dinner, Alec poured two glasses of red wine and then lead Bailee into the living room. He used his wand to light the fire in the fireplace and then sat on the sofa across from Bailee. She took a sip and stared at him nervously.  
  
"So, tell me what has been going on with for the past five years."  
  
Bailee set her glass on the table and looked up at Alec. Of course she had come over to talk to him, but it wasn't going to be easy. "Well, I wasn't working for my uncles the entire time if that's what you mean. I worked for a couple of years as a conductor on the Knight Bus, and then I was working at the Leaky Cauldron. I came to work for my uncles because of my dad. I guess he was worried I'd do something crazy, like jump off a bridge, or committ suicide. If I worked for my uncles they'd be able to keep an eye on me. I really wanted to travel though, to get away you know?"  
  
"Bailee…" he trailed off, Alec set down his glass and moved to the sofa beside Bailee. He touched her bare shoulders with his hand. She shifted uncomfortably as he touched her arm. She glanced up at him, "What about you? You spent the past five years married, obviously, what was that like?"  
  
"I don't need to tell you that I hated every minute of it. I don't really miss losing my house, because I was never there long enough to miss it. Raven was never home for that matter. She was either in Romania or off in London with one Quidditch player or the next. As for myself, I spent late nights at the Ministry and most weekends."  
  
Bailee nodded her head as Alec drew in a deep breath. She drank the rest of wine and then began playing with her hair. "Bailee, there is something I have to tell you."  
  
Bailee looked up while Alec refilled their wine glasses. He unbuttons his collar and cleared his throat. "I, don't know where to begin. I guess you know that… my grandfather and Raven's grandfather, Mr. Warner, wanted Raven and I to have kids. I have to tell you this, because you're the only person I can trust. No one else knows. Well the thing is… one night, a year or so after we were married. I came home really smashed. Anyway, Raven ended up pregnant…" Alec shook his head, "I don't think she wanted to be, and to be honest I didn't want her to be either...that would mean I'd be tied to her for the rest of my life. Well, one day she got really sick and we had to call in the doctor. She had a miscarriage…and after that, we both avoided each other. As you can see it went on for almost two years. Then my grandfather got sick one day and Raven showed up at my office, divorce papers in hand. She and I were both waiting by a string for our grandfathers to die…"  
  
Bailee glared contently at her wine glass, she wasn't sure how to react. She could feel the tears stinging her eyes but she didn't want to cry in front of him. She knew that if it were her child she'd want to save it… but Alec had a point. Bailee had her reasons to believe that Raven might have deliberately tried to kill her own child, but she wasn't sure that was the truth. If Raven had the child then chances are, they probably wouldn't have been divorced.  
  
"Please say something." Alec spoke shakily.  
  
Bailee looked up with tear stained eyes, "Well…I…I…I mean to say…"  
  
Alec took a sip of wine and then turned towards Bailee. He cupped his hands around her chin while the tears began rolling freely down Bailee's cheeks. He leaned in so close that Bailee could feel his warm breath on her lips. She closed her eyes as he began to kiss her. He leaned forward more so Bailee was completely on her back and he was half-way on her.   
  
Bailee ran her fingers through Alec's blond hair while Alec had one arm underneath her back. He had his other hand on her shoulder. Their kiss was so needy, so urgent. It was clear they both wanted it.  
  
She was the first one to pull away. Alec sat back up so they could both catch their breaths. When Alec finally looked up at Bailee, he realized that was she was still crying.  
  
"Bailee? What's wrong? I thought that we both wanted it…"  
  
Bailee nodded her head, "I know… I do…it's just that I've been waiting for so long. I wished so many times that you'd come back. The practical side of me knew that you were married and you'd never be back. And now, now you're here and I never thought it was possible."  
  
She wiped the tears away from her green eyes and bit her lower lip as he wrapped his arm around her. "I am here Bailee, and I promise I will never leave you. Not again, I couldn't bare it."  
  
"But you promised me once before that you'd never leave me. Alec how can I know that what you say is real? How do I know that I won't just end up hurt again? I have no real assurance."  
  
More tears came flowing down her cheeks as she avoided eye contact with Alec. Alec could feel the tears stinging his eyes as well. He put his other arm around her and breathed deeply into her neck. "Because Bailee…"  
  
Bailee pushed him away, "I remember a situation just like this. Doesn't this seem a little too familiar? You tell me even though you love me you're marrying someone else. I just don't think I can go through it again. I'm sorry."  
  
Alec stared at him in shock, he wanted to explain that he was no longer married. That it was all over and they could finally be together, nothing could stop them. But he couldn't speak.  
  
Bailee stood up and straightened her dress. She looked down at him as she brushed her cheek, "Dinner was lovely."  
  
Alec stood up and grabbed her wrist, gently pulling her back down to the sofa. "You're not leaving again." He placed his hand on her left shoulder and pressed his lips against hers. As the kissed progressed Bailee began to calm down and relax. Alec pulled away and stared at her, "I know you're scared to be with me, but things have changed. Lucius is dead, Raven is in Romania, there is nothing to keep us from being together. Trust me. Please trust me…"  
  
"I am scared." Bailee admitted, "I am terrified."  
  
Alec placed his head on her shoulder, "I am too, but it will be alright. We can get through this together." 


	4. Love Actually

Chapter Four: Love Actually  
  
The next morning Bailee awoke to find herself still on Alec's couch. She rolled on her side and saw Alec, lying on the opposite couch. She sat up and stared at the smiling Alec, "Good morning."  
  
"What time is it?" Bailee wanted to know, but more importantly she wanted to know why she spent the night at his house.  
  
"After nine, don't worry we don't have to be at work until eleven. Well you don't, but I have to go the Ministry today at ten thirty." Alec replied sitting up.  
  
"Oh." Came the soft reply. Bailee stood up and placed the green afghan that had been covering her on top of the sofa. Then she fixed her rumpled dress. Alec stood up at stretched, and then he walked over to Bailee, hugging her.  
  
"I have to go home." She told him.  
  
"Why? What's the rush?"   
  
"I've never…I mean…we didn't…last night…" Bailee stumbled over her words.  
  
"No, we didn't. Don't worry Bailes, you just had a bit too much wine. You crashed and I ended up on the other couch. I didn't want to wake you up, you looked so peaceful." Alec explained, smiling at her.  
  
"Oh, okay, well that's a relief."   
  
Bailee watched Alec, while he started picking up the empty wine glasses, he turned at looked up at her, "What?"  
  
"I mean that we didn't have sex…I…well…I guess I better go home and wash up." Bailee replied quickly and apparated to her cottage.  
  
Alec stared at the spot where she was standing in confusion, what had just happened? He sighed and carried the glasses into the kitchen. Then he walked into his own bathroom and stared at shower for himself.  
  
After Alec was fully dressed he decided he'd go to Bailee's cottage to see if everything was alright. He didn't mind being late for work, so he used floo powder to get to Bailee's. He stepped in her living room to find Bailee collapsed on her black leather sofa reading the Daily Prophet. Her place was messy in comparison to his own.  
  
"Bailee?"  
  
Bailee turned and looked at him behind her paper. She had her hair wrapped up in a towel and looked rather cute in her pink top and jeans. Alec sat down on the edge of the sofa as Bailee carelessly tossed her paper on the floor.  
  
"Hey, I thought you had to be at work…"  
  
"Work can wait." Alec replied.  
  
"Uh, ok, for what?"  
  
"About last night, I never took advantage of you." Alec stared down at the Daily Prophet. He noticed that his father Draco Malfoy, was on the cover, but he didn't bother reading the headline.  
  
"Oh, I know that. I would have felt it right?" Bailee joked, even though she knew Alec was being serious. She sat up so he could have more room on the sofa. He inched closer to her.  
  
"Did something happen?"  
  
Bailee turned away from him and stood up. She walked over to Osiris' cage and used her wand to clean all the dead rats. Then she picked up a couple of rolls of parchment and turned back around, "when?"  
  
"Bailee…a lot of things could have happened since we were last together. I just want to know why you freaked out like that." Alec stood up.  
  
"Fine, I had sex with Rhett Wood! Is that what you wanted to hear? I didn't want to have sex with him, but these things happen don't they?" Bailee exclaimed.  
  
"Did he…"  
  
Bailee turned away again and unrolled the first parchment. It was a letter from Trent, inviting Bailee to have dinner with him and Jamie. Bailee couldn't read the location though because her eyes were too blurry.  
  
"He did…when did this happen? Why didn't you report him?" Alec demanded walking towards her.  
  
"It was, shortly after your wedding…it was all over the papers about you and Raven…anyway. I was at a post-Quidditch game party for my brother and Rhett was there, and I got drunk. And we went back to his flat and then the next thing I know, he was done and it took me a while to register what had happened." Bailee replied.  
  
Alec placed his hand on her shoulder, "you should have told someone…"  
  
"Why? What does it matter? I was lonely, you were gone. It was going to happen sooner or later." Bailee snapped pulling away from him.  
  
"It does matter…he…"  
  
"Look, I've forgotten about it and so should you. Anyway, my brother beat him to a pulp when he found out, so I don't think Rhett will be bothering me anymore. It was so long ago…" Bailee trailed off. She leaned against the counter and took her hair out her towel, then she used her wand to dry the remaining wet strands.   
  
"I won't forget about it, but I will drop the subject. May I walk you to work?"   
  
"Sure."  
  
"But first may I kiss you?"  
  
"Do you even have to ask?"  
  
Bailee smiled happily to herself the next week as she entered the Weasley employee lounge. She put on her name tag and then walked behind the counter, sitting in her chair. It was good to be back at work, it seemed as though it had been ages since she sold a Skiving Snackbox.  
  
"Wow, don't you look pleasant today." George noticed, smiling at her.  
  
"Thank you." Bailee replied, walking over to the window and watched Alec as he walked back to his cottage.  
  
"So things have improved between you and Alec?" Fred wanted to know.  
  
Bailee turned and nodded at him. Then she walked back to her Uncle George and began helping him unpack a large box of headless hats. Once they restocked the shelves Bailee dared her uncle George to walk around Hogsmeade with the hat on. He grinned and placed the hat on his head and then walked into the sidewalk, in the middle of a group of Hufflepuffs. It was rather amusing, seeing their shocked expressions.  
  
"What do you want me to do with this box of fake wands?" Bailee asked her Uncle Fred, as George walked back into the store, taking the hat off.  
  
"Start setting them up on the shelf there, and then mark them as half price." Fred replied pointing to a shelf on Bailee's left.  
  
"Right then..."   
  
Bailee carried the box with her and got to work making a rather neat display of fake wands. She was pleased with herself, as she set up a glittery sign that said "Fifty percent off!" Then she walked back behind the counter and sat down.   
  
"Nice job." Alec stated walking into the shop, he knelt down beside Bailee and nodded his head.  
  
"Oh good, Alec you're here! I need help moving a crate of Fever Fudge out of the storage room." Fred spoke walking to Alec.  
  
Alec stood up and walked into the back with Fred, while Bailee began to set up a plate of Hiccup Sweets, as samplers for all the Hogwarts students passing through the store. Alec would walk back and forth helping Fred around the store, occasionally sending sweet glances towards Bailee's direction.  
  
The Hogwarts crowd left in the afternoon, leaving the store completely empty. Bailee put away the left over hiccup sweets and then walked into the employee's lounge where Alec was sitting.  
  
"Do you want to walk to the Hogshead with me?" Bailee inquired sitting on the couch beside him.  
  
Alec brushed back his hair and turned towards her, "I can't, I'm sorry. I didn't want to tell you this because I didn't want you to worry, but my parents are in Hogsmeade. I'm meeting them for dinner. I have to leave work early to look more presentable."   
  
Bailee sat back just staring at him. She wasn't sure of what to say. She wanted to know exactly why Draco and Pansy were in Hogsmeade. She remembered the last time they showed up unannounced. It was many years ago, but it was the reason that Bailee and Alec split up the first time. Deep down inside, Bailee had known better than to get close to Alec. She was more scared then anything of getting hurt again. She knew she couldn't bare it a second time, it would just be too much.  
  
"Oh," She replied, "okay, then I'll see you later anyway since I have a dinner date with Trent and Jamie."  
  
"Yes you will see me later." Alec agreed, but Bailee wasn't so sure.  
  
He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek and then walked out the employee's lounge. Bailee sighed softly to herself and rose to her feet. She walked into the store and asked her uncles if she could get off work early.  
  
Hours later, Bailee was sitting inside the Leaky Cauldron with Trent and Jamie. She hung her head miserably as Trent and Jamie made goo-goo eyes to one another.   
  
"Why don't you stay here in London a couple of days Bailes? You can help me pick out the perfect wedding dress." Jamie suggested after dinner.  
  
Bailee booked a room at the Leaky Cauldron and then spend the following afternoon with Jamie. How she secretly envied Jamie's luck, but at the same time how she admired Jamie. Jamie didn't love her older brother because he was rich and famous, she loved him for him. Trent had never been in a relationship like that before in his life.   
  
"Your world is so cool! When your brother told me that he was a wizard at first I didn't believe him, and then I went to your house and I saw everything. I saw his wand and his broom and the quitich pitch. It was incredible." Jamie spoke as she lead Bailee into a rather large bridal shop.  
  
"That's Quidditch." Bailee corrected her, but smiled.  
  
"Oh, right, I forgot. But anyway it's all so cool." Jamie gushed as they strolled inside, receiving odd glances from the sales clerks.  
  
"I guess from a muggle's point of view it would be cool. I've never known anything other than magic." Bailee admitted truthfully.  
  
Jamie smiled and then began to focus on the vast selection of wedding dresses instead of magic, any bride would have a tough time choosing. It only took Jamie ten minutes, however, to find the dress of her dreams. It was strapless and tight until it reached the waist, then it was very flowy, when Jamie moved the bottom would swish.   
  
"Oh! Perfect!" Bailee squealed, giving her approval.  
  
"This is the one!" Jamie agreed.  
  
After Jamie changed back into her normal clothes, she helped Bailee find the perfect set of brides maid's dresses. The one Bailee tried on was light blue and ended above her knees. She felt like a faerie princess in that dress. It had tiny straps and at the waist went very wavy.   
  
"This is so beautiful, you must make all your brides maids wear this dress. There are even blue ballet slippers to match." Bailee spoke admiring her reflection in the mirror.  
  
She'd never admit it, but she felt magical in that dress. Jamie could sense her enthusiasm and like the idea of the blue dresses.   
  
"Let it be so!" She stated clapping her hands. She was beginning to get a good idea of how she'd do Bailee's hair as well as her own. It'd be perfect.  
  
Bailee was so happy about the dress that when she had finally arrived home a day later, she completely forgot about Draco and Pansy Malfoy. It wasn't until she was feeding Osiris that she remembered. He had a bunch of letters waiting for her, and one of them was from Alec.  
  
She unrolled the parchment and read it carefully:  
  
Dearest Bailee:  
  
Please come to my place tonight . I do nothing but think of you constantly, and wonder where you are. I don't want to wait anymore. I need to see you tonight.  
  
With love,  
  
Alec  
  
Bailee wasn't sure what the note had meant. It had only been two days since she last saw Alec. She wondered how urgent it was that he had to see her that night. She sat in her living room and read the note over and over again. Was he going to tell her that he was never going to see her again? Bailee sighed and walked into her bedroom.  
  
She noticed the dress on her bed, waiting to be back on her body. She put on the dress and pranced in front of the mirror trying to cheer herself up. If Alec were to tell Bailee that it was over, she had to be prepared. She wondered if she should even go to his cottage at all?  
  
Around seven, she decided that she should in fact just go over to his cottage. Maybe if she wore the dress, he'd forget about leaving her and realize that he wanted to be with her forever despite his parents. She grabbed her cloak, and slowly walked down the darken street to his house. She nervously approached his doorstep and paused before knocking. She waited a minute or two and then was about to leave when he opened the door.  
  
"Come in," he said. "I was hoping you'd come. But I wasn't expecting you to, truthfully".  
  
"I, well, I'm here." She spoke quietly. She noticed that Alec was clad in a dark blue robe. Maybe he had just got out of the shower?  
  
She followed him inside the warm cottage and sat down on the couch, telling herself over and over again not to break into tears. Alec's cottage was nice and cosy with dimly lit candles. It was then that Bailee realized, Alec had planned this.  
  
"So you're not going to leave me?" Bailee blurted out as Alec poured her a goblet of elderflower wine.  
  
"Why would I leave you? I was so worried about you! You just disappeared for two days with no word at all!" He exclaimed almost spilling his wine.  
  
"I'm sorry Alec, when you said your parents were in Hogsmeade I automatically began to think all these bad things. You remember what happened the last time don't you? I had a dinner date with Trent and Jamie and I ended up spending more days in London than I planned on. I was so scared that you were going to tell me you'd never be able to see me again." Bailee spoke on the verge of tears.  
  
"Bailee, listen to me, I am not going to leave you. I am a grown man, twenty-three years old. My parents can no longer tell me whom I can and can't be with. You really have nothing to worry about." Alec spoke sitting down beside her and taking her hands in his.  
  
"Really?" Bailee wanted to know.  
  
"Yes, really. I love you, and I love that dress you're wearing."  
  
Bailee smiled, "Good, because it's the dress I am wearing in Jamie's wedding."  
  
"And I love that dress even better on the floor…" Alec whispered.  
  
"I…" Bailee swallowed and drank down all her wine, then she turned towards Alec.  
  
How long had they waited for this night? Five years? It seemed like so much more, like an entire life time. Alec laughed as Bailee had drunk all her wine in one gulp.  
  
"What?" Bailee asked, her heart leaping with fear, hoping he wasn't laughing because he was playing a cruel joke on her. But he smiled and shook his head. "Nothing," he said. "It's just that...you seem nervous."  
  
"Me? Nervous? Why would that be?" she asked. "I'm perfectly comfortable." She hoped it didn't sound like too much of a lie.  
  
"Good," said Alec, and he leaned forward and started kissing her. She kissed back, her passion rising for him once again, all the memories flooding back to her of when they'd been truly together at school. But the memories didn't hurt like they had been. In fact, they only intensified all her emotions. ***haha you have to email me to read this part***  
  
"That...was....amazing," Alec sighed.   
  
"So were you," Bailee whispered.  
  
"You're staying the night, aren't you?" he asked. "Please say you are."  
  
"Of course," Bailee replied. "You thought I was just going to shag and run?"  
  
"Well..." Alec said teasingly. Bailee gasped in mock outrage, and they both laughed and cuddled closer together under the blankets.  
  
Alec wrapped his arms around her and they both fell into a deep sleep. The next morning Bailee awoke early and quietly left Alec's room. She leaned against the doorway and stared him as he slept peacefully. Then she put on her clothes and quickly left his cottage. Alec awoke minutes later to find himself alone.  
  
He rose out of bed, disappointingly and walked into his bathroom. As he stepped into the hot shower he pondered why Bailee had left. She had in a way, just shagged and ran. But as she promised, she had also stayed the night. He leaned his forehead against the cold tiles and closed his eyes. Maybe she was still scared that he'd end up hurting her. What did he have to do to prove his love?  
  
He sighed softly to himself as he walked into the Ministry of Magic. He stepped into his cubicle on the second level of the Ministry, at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He hung his cloak and sat down at his desk. He should have begun to work but he couldn't tear his mind away from Bailee. If only he didn't have to be at the Ministry, he could go to her cottage and talk to her.  
  
"Alec?"  
  
Alec nearly fell out of his chair, as the person that he just stepped into his cubicle had scared him from his thoughts. It was Bailee's older brother, Trent Potter.  
  
"Yes?" Alec replied standing up and placing his hand over his heart.  
  
Trent leaned against the cubicle calmly, as he ran a hand through his spiky black hair. This time he was dressed more wizard like, in all black robes. Alec fixed his dress shirt and stared at Trent quire, "did you need something?"  
  
"I was just in the Ministry to see my dad, you haven't seen him have you?" Trent responded.  
  
"No, I don't think he's here yet."  
  
Trent began to respond but noticed a picture of his sister sitting on Alec's desk. It was during the Halloween Ball of Bailee's last year at Hogwarts. He picked it up at stared at it, his sister looked so happy.  
  
Trent turned back towards Alec, "good because I wanted a word with you."  
  
Alec stared at Trent quietly as Trent began to speak again. Alec nervously played with his tie and sat back down his chair. Trent hopped up on Alec's desk and glared at him. "I am really glad that Bailee is so happy. I haven't seen her happy in such a long time. I just want you to know that if you step out of line," Trent paused almost using the word "again", but stopped himself, "If you step out of line, I'll have to hurt you. I can't stand to see my sister hurt ever. What with that Rhett incident and everything…"  
  
Alec sat still for a moment he was unsure of what to say. He knew that he had broken Bailee's heart the first time, even if it wasn't purposely. He knew Bailee's heart was just like a delicate flower and he himself couldn't bare to see her hurt.  
  
"I understand Trent, I do. And believe me I would never do anything to purposely hurt your sister. I love her deeply." Alec replied without hesitation.  
  
"Well good, in that case, do you want to come to my wedding?"  
  
"Of course." 


	5. A New Addition?

Chapter Five: A New Addition?  
  
Three months had passed and it was now Spring. In Bailee's opinion, it was the best time to have an outdoor wedding, which is exactly what Trent and Jamie's wedding was going to be.  
  
"How are we going to get to the Burrow?" Jamie wanted to know.  
  
Bailee and Jamie were standing in the living room of Jamie's flat as they began dressing for her wedding. "Floo powder." Bailee replied.  
  
Jamie nodded even though she hadn't the slightest idea what floo powder was. Jamie stood up and put a white rose garland on top of her head as she stared at herself in her reflection. Bailee stood behind her and smiled, she was happy for her new friend.  
  
"Do you want to grab some fast food before we go to your grandparent's house? I don't think we'll have another chance to eat until the reception." Jamie stated.  
  
Bailee immediately shook her head, "no, I'm not hungry. In fact I don't think I can eat at all, lately food has been making so me sick. I can't stand the smell of anything fried. But I'll come along anyway if you like."  
  
Jamie turned around and grabbed Bailee's wrist, taking her by surprise, "how long have you felt this way?"  
  
"Couple of weeks, maybe I am catching something?" Bailee replied waving her free hand.  
  
"Bailee! Call me crazy, but I think you're preg-"  
  
"No, I can't be!" Bailee replied interrupting her friend.  
  
She freed herself from Jamie's grasp and collapsed down on the sofa. She placed her face in her hands and began to cry softly. It all made sense now, the reason she had been feeling so off color for the past two months. Jamie sat down beside her and placed her hands on Bailee's shoulders, "Don't worry Bailes, everything is going to be alright. After the wedding, I'll take you to the muggle doctors and we can have you checked out."  
  
Bailee looked up at Jamie, "Don't bother, I already know I am…"  
  
"Come on, having a baby isn't such a bad thing. Most people find it a blessing…"  
  
"Well are those people unmarried twenty-three year olds that work in a little joke shop?"   
  
"I don't know."  
  
Bailee stood up and wiped her face, "we better get to The Burrow."  
  
She walked over to the mirror and used a spell to get rid of the runny mascara on her face. No one could tell she had been crying. She fixed her dress and was thankful that she wasn't showing yet.   
  
She pulled out her jar of Floor Powder and turned towards Jamie, instructing her on how to get to The Burrow. Then Bailee herself took a handful of floo powder and headed for her grandparent's home.  
  
She stepped out of the fireplace moments later and fixed her dress, feeling nauseous. She cupped her hand over her mouth and ran into the downstairs bathroom. She felt as if the entire room were spinning. She grabbed the counter and closed her eyes, but still felt like she was going in circles. She stepped back and began falling towards the ground.   
  
"Bailee!" Ginny gasped running into the bathroom beside her daughter.  
  
Jamie leaned over Ginny and stared down at Bailee, "looks like she fainted, perhaps I should get some smelling salt from the kitchen."  
  
Ginny turned and looked at Jamie, "did she eat today?"  
  
"I'm not sure." Jamie shrugged.  
  
It only took a couple of seconds before they could revive Bailee. She sat up placing her hand over her forehead, she was lucky she managed to get sick in the toilet. She looked up at her mum and began to feel embarrassed.  
  
"I'm okay." She spoke, slowly getting to her feet.  
  
"Bailee…" Ginny trailed off.  
  
Bailee turned away from her mom and walked out of the bathroom. She fixed her dress and then walked into the living room beside her grandparents and relatives. There were relatives there at The Burrow that she hadn't seen in years. Her younger sister, Brooklynn, was among the crowd. Bailee hadn't seen her for months due to the fact that Brooklynn was still attending Hogwarts.  
  
She managed to make polite conversation before it was time for her to lead Jamie down to the alter. The wedding was beautiful and went without a hitch. Jamie and Trent both said their vows and devotion to one another in a short matter of time and it wasn't long before the reception began.  
  
"I can't believe I'm married!" Jamie squealed as she and Bailee walked over to the banquet table, "Mrs. Jamie Potter, I like the sound of it."  
  
Bailee smiled and nodded her head, trying not to glance down at all the food. She hugged Jamie and then walked away from the table and towards the garden. She found an unoccupied bench and sat down, staring at her family from afar. She closed her eyes and thought about her past conversation with Jamie. She couldn't believe that she was actually going to have a baby. It seemed so unreal.  
  
"Bailee?"  
  
Bailee opened her eyes and stared at Alec. He smiled and sat down on the bench beside her. It was evident that he was more happy to see her than she was happy to see him.  
  
"Is everything alright? You seem so quiet." Alec wanted to know, placing his hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Yeah, everything is fine." Bailee lied, and closed her eyes again. Everything is fine except for the fact that I'm having your baby, she thought.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Alec shook his head and stared at the uncut grass. He knew something was wrong with her but he wasn't sure what. He couldn't force it out of her. He brushed back his hair, which had grown longer over the months and stood up. He looked down at her and shrugged before walking away. He was about to make his way back to the bar when he noticed a oddly familiar brunette.  
  
He wasn't sure at first, but when he got closer he realized that it was Raven Warner, his ex-wife. He approached her and grabbed her arm tightly, pulling her away from the crowd.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" He demanded, and then got a better look. She appeared to be well, pregnant.  
  
"I came here to find you! Let go of me! Your father told me to find you!" Raven replied trying to pull herself away from Alec, but he wasn't letting go.  
  
"Why? Why are you coming after me? I want nothing to do with you, we're divorced, remember?"  
  
"That maybe so, but I think our child doesn't have to know that!" Raven cried as Alec's grip tightened.  
  
"What? How dare you! That is not my child!" Alec exclaimed.  
  
"I know that," she lowered her voice, "but your father doesn't know that. He thinks we made up, he thinks this is our child."  
  
Alec had never hit a girl before his life, and this had to be the first time he had almost come close. "Well I demand you go to my father and you tell him the truth! You filthy whore!"  
  
"I can't do that Alec."  
  
"Why the hell not?"  
  
Raven opened her mouth to reply but noticed Bailee walking in their direction. She smiled maliciously, and cocked her head to the side, "that's why not."  
  
Alec immediately let go of Raven and froze as Bailee had spotted them. Bailee walked up them with a confused expression plastered on her face. She glared at Raven and then at Alec.  
  
"What is she doing here?"  
  
Alec took Bailee's hands, "I honestly don't know Bailee."  
  
"Of course you know Alec Malfoy." Raven stood in front of him, "I came here to inform Alec that he is the father of my baby."  
  
"What?" Bailee questioned, looking down at Raven's stomach. She gasped placing her hands over her mouth and then turned to Alec, "is this true?"  
  
"Of course not Bailee!" Alec shouted.  
  
"Oh come on Alec, you know for a fact that we've tried for years to get pregnant. Well we finally succeeded." Raven stated looking at him, still smiling.  
  
"Alec?" Bailee cried, tears stinging her eyes.  
  
"Bailee, I-"  
  
"I don't believe this!" Bailee spoke and suddenly apparated into thin air.  
  
Raven nodded her head, and then began walking away, "I'll go talk to Draco now, about our arrangement." She tossed back and disappeared into the Weasley crowd.  
  
"What arrangement?" Alec asked himself.  
  
***  
  
Bailee ripped off her bride's maid dress and changed into her more normal clothes. Soon she'd have to buy all new clothes to fit her and the baby. She put her dress in the closet and then opened her suitcase. She began tossing clothes in left and right without paying any real attention.   
  
Then she helped Osiris into his cage and together they left her cottage. She walked to the centre of Hogsmeade and held out her wand. It was only seconds before a bright purple double Decker bus appeared out of nowhere. Since Bailee had been a conductor on the Knight Bus, she was quite familiar with it. The driver, Stan Shunpike smiled brightly as Bailee boarded the bus.  
  
"Hello Bailee Potter, how are you doing this evening?" He inquired fixing his bright purple hat.  
  
"Good, I need to get to London please." She told him as he closed the bus doors behind her.  
  
"Twelve sickles."   
  
Bailee paid Stan and then chose an unoccupied bed to lay on. She placed her stuff and Osiris' cage on the floor and then closed her eyes. Since she was so use the bus's erratic movements, she fell asleep without a wink.   
  
It wasn't too long before the bus was in the centre of London. Bailee sat up and yawned stretching her arms. Then she gathered her belongings and flounced down the bus. She waved goodbye to Stan and then stepped onto the darken London road, in front of the Leaky Cauldron. Within fifteen minutes, Bailee had a room booked at the Leaky Cauldron and was once again, fast asleep. In the morning she'd go to Jamie's flat and stay there for a while.  
  
She awoke the next morning and wrote an owl to her mum, letting her know that she was alright. Then she wandered downstairs to grab a bit of breakfast and managed to keep it down.  
  
Alec sat in the darken corner of the Leaky Cauldron with his father, Draco Malfoy. He glared contently at his fire whiskey as his father spoke.  
  
"If you do not take care of Raven's baby, I shall have you disowned from the Malfoy clan. Do you understand me Alec? There will be consequences for your actions." Draco spoke.  
  
Alec looked at his father angrily, "I am not taking responsibility for that harlot's baby. I want nothing to do with her and I want nothing to do with you. I hate you. I am sick and tired of you holding money and the family name over my head. I've had enough of it. It's my life now Father and I can do with it what I wish."  
  
Alec stood up, knocking his fire whiskey over the table. Draco leaned forward and grabbed his son's wrist tightly, "I warned you Alec."  
  
"You can't threaten me." Alec spat back and pulled away. He marched out of the darken corner and out of the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
Meanwhile, Bailee finished her breakfast and wandered back upstairs to her room. Her mum's owl, Lucky, was waiting for her a roll of parchment. Bailee groaned taking the parchment from Lucky and hand her a bread crumb in exchange.  
  
She unrolled the letter and read it carefully.   
  
Bailee Potter! Where on earth did you run off to? We were worried sick! Not to mention Alec! He left shortly after you did, in search for you. Did he ever find you? You father and I are worried because he didn't show up at the Ministry this morning.   
  
Bailee rolled up the parchment and stared at the brown barn owl, "Alec didn't show up for work? That is very unlike him. He's probably off in Romania proposing to Raven."  
  
She turned around and packed her suitcase up. Then she left the Leaky Cauldron and wandered the busy streets of London, towards Jamie's flat. Jamie didn't live too far from King's Cross Station. As Bailee walked by herself, she began to think. Raven looked like she had been at least five or six months pregnant. She must had been pregnant when Bailee ran into her the first time at The Three Broomsticks.   
  
Bailee felt a slight pang of guilt in her stomach. Raven and Alec had been divorced for longer than nine months. Unless Alec had gone back to her in that time, there was no way he could be the father. He had even confessed, they only had sex one time and it ended up badly. Why would he go back and have sex with her again for fear that she'd have another miscarriage? It wouldn't make sense, Bailee told herself.  
  
"I have to go find him." She said out loud. She wheeled around and began hiking back to The Leaky Cauldron. The only thing was, Bailee was unsure where'd she find him. She fixed her jacket and walked passed the unfamiliar muggles.   
  
Alec violently kicked the gravel as he walked down the street, near by the Leaky Cauldron. He had never been so angry before in his life. He had just faced his father for the first time in his life. He had stood up and been a man. It should have made him proud, instead it made him pissed. He crossed his arms and huffed. How dare his father tell him, a twenty-three year old man, how to live his life.  
  
"Alec?"  
  
He looked up and felt instantly better, Bailee stood before him. She dropped her luggage and Osiris' empty cage and ran towards him.  
  
"Oh Alec…"  
  
He wrapped his arms tightly around her, "Bailee I am so sorry. I swear I'm not the father of that whor- of Raven's child. I swear it."  
  
"I know Alec, I know, I did the math. I didn't mean to lose my cool. I should have heard you out instead of running away. I'm sorry too." Bailee replied placing her head on his gentle shoulder.  
  
He smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Let's go home yeah?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Bailee picked up her stuff and then took her free hand and placed it in Alec's hand. She smiled as they entered the Leaky Cauldron together.   
  
Little did they know, that Draco hadn't left the Leaky Cauldron. He watched the young couple as they both stepped into the gigantic stone fire place. Draco gritted his teeth with irritation. So this was the reason Alec refused to go back to Raven. He was still in love with that stupid twat Bailee Potter.  
  
"I must put a stop to this!" Draco banged his fist on the checker table. 


	6. Things Don't Always Turn Out That Way

Chapter Six: Things Don't Always Turn Out That Way  
  
Bailee put her suitcase in her room and then walked into the living room where Alec was sitting. She smiled at him and sat down, fixing her light blue jacket. "There's something I have to tell you." she whispered.  
  
"And there's something I have to tell you, but let's wait. Do you want some lunch?"   
  
She shook her head, "I'm not hungry."  
  
Alec stared at her questionable and then shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't really all that hungry himself. "What did you want me tell me then?"  
  
Bailee opened her mouth to speak and then paused, "it can wait." she decided and got to her feet. She picked up Osiris' cage and placed it back in its usual spot on the counter. Then she looked at Alec. She just couldn't find the nerve to tell him. Of course he'd find out eventually, everyone would find out eventually. It wasn't something she could keep hidden forever.  
  
"I…I'm…I'm mean I'm really glad you're here." She spoke inwardly cursing herself for being so gutless.  
  
"I'm glad I'm here too Bailes."  
  
Bailee smiled and then sat down on the sofa, offering a seat to Alec. He smiled in return and sat down, patting the jewellery box that was sitting in his cloak pocket. It was the same ring Alec had used to propose to Bailee five years earlier. This time, he hoped that nothing would go wrong and she'd be wearing the ring forever. He was so nervous about proposing to her, he wanted it to be at the exact moment at the exact place and time. He was determined to not let his father screw things up this time around.  
  
He placed his arms around her and they began to kiss. He moved so he was lying on his back and Bailee was half-way on top of him. He ran his fingers through her silky hair and closed his eyes. Suddenly, Bailee pulled back and jumped to her feet. She cupped her mouth and apparated to her bathroom. Alec sat up, in confused silence waiting for her to return.  
  
Bailee returned from the bathroom moments later, her face red with embarrassment. "I'm sorry.", she spoke, she knew she had to tell him. "I'm not feeling well."  
  
"Do you want me to get you something? I can pop to the medi-store real quick." Alec stated, getting to his feet.  
  
"Uh," Bailee thought for a moment, if Alec was gone for a little while she'd be able to think of a way to break the news to him when he returned. "Okay, sure…"  
  
Alec smiled, "I shall return milady."  
  
"Alright, sir, see you soon."  
  
Alec kissed her cheek and then strolled out the front door, smiling to himself. He'd return with her medicine, and a bouquet of roses. He wondered if it was inappropriate to propose to her with her being sick and all. He fixed his dress shirt and walked down the coble stone road. After a few blocks, he began to get this creepy feeling like he was being followed. He cocked his head to the side and noticed a hooded figure walking behind him. He began to run, towards the Hogshead, but as he rounded the next corner, he ran straight into his father.  
  
"Hello Alec." Draco stated bringing up his wand, long metal chains came flying out, wrapping around Alec tightly, "I warned you didn't I?"  
  
Alec tried desperately to free himself from the chains, but was unsuccessful.  
  
***  
  
Months later…  
  
Bailee rose out of bed, wiping her tear stained cheeks. It had been another restless night. She put on her royal blue robe and walked over to the window, staring down at the busy London street below. She had moved into Jamie's apartment only weeks earlier, just as Jamie had moved out. Bailee pat her stomach, which was quite noticeable now and drew in a deep breath. On that morning she craved a cigarette really badly, but she had quit due to the baby, and due to her general health. Some days she thought about the many other ways she could kill herself, but the only thing that stopped her was the growing fetus in her belly.  
  
She slowly walked back her back and laid back down. She grabbed the remote from her night stand and turned on the TV… She use to watch the news, just in case, but lately she had given up on all hope. She's never see Alec again and that was a fact she was beginning to accept.  
  
After flipping through the boring day-time soap operas, Bailee finally turned off the T.V. She sat up again, and decided to check her mail. Now a days she only received letters from Jamie, and from her mother. She usually avoided her family, embarrassed by the fact that was about to be a single, unmarried mother. Her parents, although displeased at first, offered to support her to their best abilities. Bailee turned them down however, as she had enough money saved up on her own. She walked over to Osiris's cage and picked up the rolls of parchment. She thumbed through them all, until one caught her eye.  
  
It was a thin white piece of parchment, and the writing was a deep red color quite similar to blood. Bailee gasped, when she began to read the letter. She felt her heart begin to grow tight in her chest.  
  
Dearest Bailee Potter,  
  
I am sure you have been wondering what has happened to me all these months. Well you have to worry no longer, because I am quite happy in Romania. That's right, with my new wife Raven. I am just writing this to you so you don't go looking for me. Please just accept the fact that we'll never see each other again, I am better off without you.  
  
Sincerely, Alec Malfoy.  
  
Before Bailee could even begin to register Alec's letter, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She cried, doubling over in pain, dropping the parchment. She clutched the end off the counter and gasped, staring down the fresh puddle below her feet.  
  
The END!  
  
And one of these days  
  
I won't be afraid of staying with you  
  
-Michelle Branch 


End file.
